


Limerence

by grimeysociety



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Maria Hill Feels, POV Maria Hill, Sam Wilson is a Gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:54:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23853388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimeysociety/pseuds/grimeysociety
Summary: (n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.Maria finally takes some time off to attend Tony and Pepper's wedding weekend in France.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers, Maria Hill/Sam Wilson, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 24
Kudos: 106
Collections: Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2019





	Limerence

**Author's Note:**

> Maria and Sam deserve some love.
> 
> This was written for my Ladies of Marvel Bingo 2019 Square "E5: Pepper, you’re not like anyone. Thank you for being in my life. -Tony, your sober is drunker than most people’s drunk."

_I like-I like-I like-I like-I like everything about you_   
_So, don't you hold me back_   
_'Cause I know, when I know, I don't wanna be alone_   
_Don't you hold me back_   
**\- "claws" by Charli XCX**

Maria was surprised everyone made it to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte in one piece.

Considering how hard she’d heard the groomsmen partied alongside the bachelorette party in Las Vegas the weekend before (there was plenty of video evidence on Darcy’s Instagram), she thought there was a high chance they’d all end up as foie gras to be served for the wedding reception.

Maria didn’t feel left out. She didn’t miss being a bridesmaid, it was always extremely stressful for the most inane reasons and she was always exhausted and drunk by the end of it all, so the memories tended to be a blurry mess.

She arrived in France not on business for the first time in years. She watched a couple of Darcy’s videos in the back of her cab on her way from Paris, in between checking her emails and alerts on her phone.

_“Here is to the men that we love  
And here’s to the men that love us  
But the men that we love will never love us  
So fuck all the men and here’s to us!”_

The footage was of the back of a limo with several flutes of champagne raised among the bridesmaids and Pepper. They all then downed their glasses and cheered and screamed and Maria smirked to herself, glancing out the window.

During the 30 miles to the château, Maria replied to roughly fifteen emails in rapid succession, before remembering to switch it off and stow it away in her jacket pocket. It was technically her weekend off, so she had a right to a break, but she knew she’d be checking it anyway. She was never truly off the clock. She had the firearms to prove it, plus the knives.

As they pulled up, Maria could see the other arrivals. Tony and Pepper’s wedding was supposed to be the social event of the decade. Maria tried not the pay too much attention to the tabloids, but there were plenty of big names rumored to be in attendance. She could remember Darcy’s stupefaction when Pepper introduced her to her friend Linda during the Christmas party last year.

(“She meant _Linda Evangelista_?!” she hissed to Jane, and Maria pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing into her drink.)

It was predictable, but it caught her off-guard just the same when she almost collided with Sam Wilson on her way inside. He pushed the door wide open for her and she stepped through, nodding at him.

“Thanks, Sam.”

Her stomach did its usual flip like she was in middle school. She had to admit it had been building over time, their little back-and-forth. They were both busy, and it wasn’t like Maria had been holding out for him. She was quite certain he was dating, too, but she still liked the attention he gave her, however fleeting it was.

He had beautiful eyes and the most handsome smile Maria had ever seen. Acknowledging that somewhere along the line didn’t help things at all, but she couldn’t help her very right opinion about the man. He was handsome and kind and a good listener from what she learned about him.

“You’re welcome, Miss Hill,” he replied.

He was respectful of her rank, never questioned a woman in her position unlike so many others before him. He didn’t condescend to her or try to figure out how she got this far. She remembered the first time she saw him, after she’d managed to get that damn helmet off her head, and he’d stared at her with wide eyes and parted lips.

Instead of going the way he originally planned, Sam fell into step beside her.

“You just got here, too?” she asked.

“At 13-hundred hours,” Sam said, and she felt her lips quirk. “We got shown to our rooms.”

“You mean Captain Rogers and yourself?” she asked.

She stopped at the desk a concierge was standing behind. Maria passed her invitation over and she was handed a key card. 

“Yeah,” Sam replied. He looked down at the key card she was holding. “Same wing as us.”

Maria said nothing to that. She figured it was best to keep this above anything flirtatious. She’d only just got there and it was going to be a long weekend if she started already with nowhere to go. If she were Stark, she’d have made some bird joke by now, but she let his words hang between them for several silent seconds.

“I’ll see you,” he murmured, and she nodded, walking on.

-

She had her rooms to herself, which she expected because of her security clearance. It was a nice turn of events, having priority access to a French estate.

She had her own little balcony with views of the grounds. She could watch the other people arriving if she wished to. Instead, she sat on her bed with her laptop and sipped fresh coffee. She planned on pushing through the jet lag. Her body was six hours ahead of Paris time, so she was already tired by the time dinner came around.

She rose, dressing in her favorite leather jacket, opting to wear her hair down for once. She tried to not think about the possibility of speaking to Sam.

She followed the laughter downstairs to one of the dining halls and saw Pepper and Tony sitting together at a table with Rhodey and a couple of Pepper’s friends.

“Pepper, you’re not like anyone. Thank you for being in my life.”

Pepper tilted her head, laughing.

“Tony, your sober is drunker than most people’s drunk,” she murmured, and the table erupted in laughter, and the couple shared a kiss they both smiled into.

Maria gave them both a little smile as they spotted her and she walked on, seeing Darcy and Jane sitting at a table by one of the windows. Darcy looked a little deflated, rubbing her eyes.

“Hey,” Maria said, slipping into a chair beside Jane.

“How is everyone so peppy right now?” Darcy muttered, yawning. “I’m running on ninety minutes of sleep, max…”

“Go to bed, no-one cares. You have to be up at the crack of dawn, anyway,” Jane said, nudging her.

She looked at Maria. “What’s your advice?”

“About what in particular?” Maria asked, taking a menu from the middle of their table. She flipped it over and considered a bowl of Potage Dubarry. “Is it something to do with Steve?”

“How’d you guess?” Darcy muttered, now rubbing her temples. “I know we’re a cliché.”

Maria made eye contact with a waiter and ordered the soup along with a couple pieces of bread.

“I love the French language, but _potage_ sounds terrible,” Jane said.

“It’s cauliflower soup,” Maria said when the waiter walked away. “Darcy, the thing with Steve is the situation doesn’t change unless either of you is honest with one another.”

She didn’t mean to sound too brutally honest, but she knew with Darcy it was easier to not beat around the bush. The younger woman tended to respond better with a firm instruction. She was smarter than she tended to give herself credit for.

“Yeah, I know,” she replied, giving Maria a tired half-smile. “What about you and Sam?”

Maria met her gaze, frowning slightly.

“Is that… something that’ll change sometime soon?” Darcy went on.

Maria didn’t know if she wanted it to. She hadn’t got jealous so far when she’d heard through the grapevine about his dating life. She didn’t go on Bumble to illicit some kind of reaction from him, either.

“ _That_ is a cliché,” Maria said, and Darcy began to giggle.

“All those good wedding feelings, I want some,” Darcy murmured, looking over at the doorway, her brows lifting slightly at what she saw.

Sam and Steve were hanging around the entrance, considering their options for seating, when Maria’s eyes met Sam’s across the dining hall.

She looked away, the soup bowl appearing in front of her. She began to eat in silence as the men approached their table. Steve took the seat beside hers with Sam on his other side. Maria stayed quiet as she ate.

She found herself missing Fury, but she knew he’d show tomorrow at some point during the ceremony. She had offered she stay on in the US while he made a proper weekend out of the occasion, but he was the one to push her into this vacation.

She rose from the table after she finished her soup and a glass of wine, hoping to finally sleep. She walked out of the dining hall, and something felt off. She didn’t need to draw up a list of possibilities. She was a little lonely, and being in an unfamiliar place was probably exacerbating that.

She was fine when she was working, but this was different. Her time off meant she had more freedom, but it meant she allowed herself to be open to emotions she often pushed away.

It would be nice, to be here with someone else. Someone she could talk to, share the experience with. These people were her friends, to some extent, but it was very shallow at the same time. She blamed herself for that, but that was the nature of her position. She had to be careful with how much she shared of herself.

Perhaps if Natasha had been there in the dining room, she could have shot Maria a knowing look and she’d feel a little better, but the spy was elsewhere.

As she moved to take the stairs back up to her suite, she heard a soft voice break through her vaguely morose thoughts:

“Maria.”

She turned her head, seeing Sam standing behind her, smiling at her.

“Sam.”

“Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked.

He surprised her, being this forward, when she hadn’t said a word to him all night. She glanced over at the windows to their left, at the door that led out into the grounds.

“I, uh,” she began, for once not sure what to say. “I’m beat.”

“Right,” Sam said, nodding. He didn’t frown or seem crushed. “Maybe next time.”

“Yeah, next time,” she said.

She thought about inviting him upstairs to her room. She would have done that in her twenties, or when she was at the Academy. Now, she was tired and more afraid than she wanted to admit, going quiet again.

“Goodnight,” he said, and she nodded, grateful he was bailing her out.

“Goodnight,” she echoed.

-

Maria woke early out of habit. She rose from her bed, pulling away the curtain to see the outdoor setup already taking shape. There were hundreds of white chairs in rows on the lawn with the fountain in the background, the sun shining down in the clear morning sky.

Maria ordered coffee and a croissant with Nutella and strawberries and set to work. She blow-dried her hair and then curled it at the vanity beside her bed, listening to the sounds of surrounding life in the grounds below. Workers were yelling at one another in French while Maria could hear American-accented English on her floor upstairs, the panic beginning to set in.

She did not envy being part of the bridal party. Once she was done with her own hair and makeup, she went to her front door and peeked outside, seeing Darcy in the hallway with her hair in rollers, taking a long drag of her vape.

“Hey,” she called, looking a little wobbly. “God.”

“You need help with anything?” Maria asked, and she came over to her.

“No, I mean – I’m just feeling all types of stupid right now,” Darcy whispered. She shrugged. “I should’ve asked Steve to come with me to this, be my plus-one.”

Darcy seemed surprised Maria was being this patient with her. Maria had already felt some nerves herself, feeling a little foolish about last night.

“Maybe you should just put you both out of your miseries after the ceremony,” Maria said.

She impulsively took Darcy’s vape and inhaled deeply, the nicotine already beginning to work itself through her restlessness as she handed it back to Darcy.

“Sam likes you,” Darcy said, and Maria felt her stomach flip.

She suspected as much. Most people would.

“I know I’m outta line,” Darcy added quickly. “I’m sorry –”

“We’re not working, it’s fine,” Maria interrupted, and Darcy snapped her mouth shut, nodding. “I think we all have the same… the same issues.”

“Right,” Darcy mumbled. “Steve’s always avoiding it.”

Darcy liked to call a spade a spade, which Maria always admired about her. She was looking at Maria pointedly, her nerves from moments ago all but gone. She took one last drag from her device before stuffing it back into her robe pocket.

“What are you wearing?” Darcy asked. She looked down at Maria’s jeans and halter top.

“Black,” Maria replied, and Darcy flashed a grin. “You?”

“Lavender.”

-

Maria sat in her assigned chair during the reception, her fingers fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. She sensed someone behind her and smiled to herself, knowing who it was before he said a word.

“Wondered when you’d come by,” she murmured.

She turned her head slightly, her eyes reaching Fury’s as he gave a muted smile. He wore his usual long leather coat with matching boots. He blended into the background, except to the people who knew him. Maria was sitting alone at their table while everyone danced, save for Steve, who’d also noticed the director.

“Fury,” he said, nodding.

Maria rose from her chair and followed Fury out a side door to the courtyard. Maria’s dress had no sleeves. It was strapless and covered her legs completely but she felt the cool air sink into her bones and pushed against the urge to shiver.

“I won’t stay long,” he said, reading her mind. “We have new intel on Bak.”

“Understood,” Maria said.

He was head of one of the larger South Korean cartels and they’d been keeping tabs on him for several weeks. He was rumored to have traded Chitauri weapons, smuggling them out of the US for years since the Battle of New York.

“I’ll need you in Seoul in 24-hours.”

“Yes, sir,” Maria said.

It would clear her mind, this new mission ahead of her. As much as she’d enjoyed the weekend so far, cutting it a little short had to happen. Fury glanced over at the grounds, his face unreadable.

“Nick?”

“I’m glad you were here just the same,” he said, eyes swinging back to hers.

She felt herself smile and he mirrored her, crossing his arms behind his back.

“I’ll see you in Seoul,” he said, and he walked away, disappearing into the dark.

Maria stayed out there for a few extra minutes, to just enjoy the view. She listened to the music inside and turned, walking back.

When she returned to her seat, she saw the last moments of a kiss Steve was sharing with Darcy. They broke apart and Darcy ducked her head, blushing as she looked over at Maria.

“Hi,” she said, and Maria stared back at her, brows hiking. Darcy cleared her throat. “We’ll, uh, we’ll take this somewhere else…”

Steve tugged Darcy toward him for another kiss as he finally joined the dance floor, the pair of them moving in a small circle, oblivious to everyone else. Maria smirked, glancing back at her wine glass.

As the night went on, the crowd only got rowdier, and Maria could feel herself retreating inward. She wasn’t against people enjoying themselves. She was feeling a little more left out than she wanted to admit, but awkwardly moving over to the dance floor sounded too painful to endure.

She said no to another drink as the waiter hovered by the table. She grabbed her clutch to leave when she stopped dead, seeing Sam standing in front of her, his hands in his suit pockets, his tie undone.

“You wanna go for that walk now?” he asked.

The dance floor was going wild for Electric Light Orchestra so Maria wasn’t afraid of them being noticed together. She still hadn’t properly prepared for this, but she thought of tomorrow and how little time she had left to just be this other person, this other Maria.

Maybe she wasn’t two different people.

“Sure,” she said, and Sam smiled at her, waiting as she pushed in her chair and walked beside him out into the hallway.

The silence between them felt different, she was no longer pretending she didn’t enjoy his company. Their footsteps echoed as they made their way out, Maria’s head tilting ever so slightly toward the staircase behind them.

He followed her up the stairs, and Maria’s heart began to beat faster, the sound of his footsteps out of time with hers spurring her on.

“It’s a nice dress,” he said, and Maria glanced over at him, seeing his eyes fall to her hand she’d put in her pocket. “It’s nifty.”

She chuckled. “You’d be surprised how many dresses aren’t built like this.”

“You look really good,” he added, and she felt herself flush like she used to a long time ago, and she tucked a curl behind her ear, smiling shyly at him.

“You do, too,” she replied. “Even with the tie all…”

“Messed up?” he said, and she grinned a little wider, nodding. “Thanks, Maria.”

She wasn’t used to hearing him say her name, but she liked it so much she chuckled again, Sam joining her.

“You been to a lot of weddings?” he asked, and Maria shook her head.

“Not for a while. I’ve missed a lot of them.”

He nodded.

“You?”

“Riley’s,” he said, clearing his throat. “My, uh…”

His friend that died in the Air Force. Maria knew that story from his file. Everyone knew that story about Sam, and she nodded.

“A lot smaller than this,” Sam said. “His brother DJ’d. It was awful.”

“What was the worst song?” Maria asked.

Sam passed a hand over his face, grimacing.

“Vengaboys. Y’know, ‘the –’”

“‘The Venga bus is comin' and everybody's jumpin'’?” Maria recited, and Sam began to laugh.

They laughed together as they walked, until Maria slowed down when they approached her door. She took her key card of her clutch.

“You want to come in?” she asked.

It took her a few seconds to arrive there, her heart racing, locking eyes with Sam. He stared back at her, seeming more sure of himself than Maria was.

“Is that what you want?” he returned.

Maria nodded, and then finally said: “I want that.”

With anyone else, she would have backed them into a wall long ago and kissed them breathless, but this was Sam. She wanted to get this right. He made her afraid of getting it _wrong_ , which was in itself wild to Maria because she knew she was perfectly capable of doing whatever she set her mind to.

She delayed her movements, moving slowly and silently, carefully as she reached to tap the key against the reader, the red light changing to green as the lock clicked inside the door. She pushed down the handle and stepped inside, feeling the warmth of Sam’s closeness on her bare shoulders as she walked over the threshold.

She walked until she reached her armchair a placed her clutch on the seat, taking her time to orient herself. She turned, Sam behind her.

She kissed him, hands coming up to hold his face. The kiss was tight-lipped but nonetheless satisfying, because finally, finally she was allowing to feel this, the tension snapping as their lips brushed.

Sam deepened it instantly, tilting his head to ply her lips open and push his tongue inside her mouth, and Maria felt her face burn with the undeniable hunger to his touch. She moaned, closing her eyes as she melted into his touch, his hands on either side of her waist.

He tasted of beer, his cologne smelled of cedar and he was so warm and affirming in his presence Maria moved back against him with more ease than she ever allowed herself to imagine. She thought of nervous fumblings and awkward grunts but he took from what she gave with the confidence she should have known he’d show, given everything else she’d seen him do thus far.

He kissed her throat, her hands pushing off his jacket from his broad shoulders. His own hands separated, one splayed on her back, and Maria went for her zipper, their eyes locking as the material gave way.

She didn’t expect him to lower himself to the floor when she was rid of her dress, throwing it over the back of her chair. He mapped out her thighs with his long fingers, kissing her knee from where he knelt, reaching for her thong to pull it down, exposing her to the cool air of the room.

Maria swallowed, his hands smoothing over her bare skin, cupping her rear as he moved up with his mouth.

“Fuck,” she gasped, his mouth sealing over her, tongue darting out to taste her.

The first few seconds made her thighs jolt in earnest, her hand meeting the back of his head. He held her up as he took her apart in agonizingly slow licks and sucks, two of his fingers tucked inside her that she clenched around.

When he pulled back, he was panting, his face wet with her arousal, the back of his hand wiping at his mouth as he stared up at her.

He rose, Maria’s hands grabbing his arms and clinging to the back of his neck as they kissed, feverish and clumsy, backing out of the room.

She pushed him into the mattress and climbed on top of him, making quick work of his fly. Her instincts were taking over, but she made herself pause because she was always prepared, even for jumping into bed with her crush.

“I have an IUD,” she said, and Sam nodded. “And I’m clean.”

“I’m clean,” he echoed.

“This usually works best for me,” she added, their hands brushing as they pushed down Sam’s pants together.

“Yeah?” he replied, smiling up at her, kicking his pants away, both of them moving as he managed to kick off his shoes.

In seconds he was completely naked under her, Maria’s eyes drinking him in. She was still wearing her heels from earlier, and kicked them off as Sam’s hand pushed one of her bra cups down, pushing forward to seal his mouth around her nipple he exposed.

That helped, her eyes fluttering shut, her hands fumbling to take the bra off completely.

His mouth on her again, Maria cupped the back of his head, her hips rocking of their own accord, and then they were both shifting, Maria’s other hand slipping down his hard stomach to wrap around his shaft.

He kissed her hard, and she lifted up, rubbing against the length of him, teasing him to just see what he’d do. He seemed to bring it out of her, the urge to render him helpless, his lip between his teeth.

“You’re so beautiful –” he cut himself of when he breached her, his head falling back against the pillow as she took him to the hilt. “ _God_ …”

Maria began to rock, hands pressed to his chest while Sam’s fingers dug into her hips, his lips parted, his eyes blinking hard.

“God,” he whispered again, as Maria moved against the grain.

She could feel she was beginning to tremble from feeling so much, feeling full and vulnerable, held and exposed all at once…

She circled her hips a little faster, finding the spot that made her breath hitch, grinding her clit against him. She lowered herself to kiss him, her hands slipping up to clutch his face. Sam took the opportunity to cuddle her against his chest, his knees drawing up to brush against her ass, pushing up into her.

“More, more,” she whispered, and he obliged. “Go harder – _yes_ …”

She could feel she was close, gripping him in earnest, their mouths missing one another as they panted, and she could hear her breath becoming ragged.

She could hear his body smacking into hers with mounting speed, and Maria flew, slumping forward as she came with a cry, eyes squeezed shut.

She panted, pulling back to look him in the eye, and Sam stroked her face, smiling at her softly like he always did, like he could see her –

He’d _always_ seen her.

“You okay?” he whispered.

“You’re not seeing anyone at the moment?” she asked instead of answering, and he stared at her for a second, neither of them moving.

He was inside her and she was asking this. She knew it was absurd timing.

“No,” he said. “You?”

“No,” she whispered back, shaking her head. “Do you… do you want to get dinner sometime?”

He burst into a grin and nodded. “Sure. I’d love to.”

He lifted his nose to brush hers, smiling into another kiss.

“But first I wanna do this.”

He wrapped a hand around her waist and planted his foot on the mattress, turning them both so Maria was under him, tucking back inside her, pinning her in such a delightful way Maria laughed out loud, dissolving into a moan as he began to drive into her again.

He lasted another couple of minutes, kissing her at the last second as he came with a groan, both of them sweaty and panting.

The room seemed to spin from where Maria lay and Sam flopped down beside her, his arm slipping under her side to pull her flush against him.

-

Maria tied her bootlace in her armchair, checking her phone when it chimed in her jacket pocket. She sighed out loud for once, thinking of her warm bed she’d left.

She walked back into the bedroom, sitting on Sam’s side, and he stirred, blinking up at her.

It wasn’t even sunrise yet. Fury had sent her an alert earlier she responded to without hesitation. At the time, she’d been watching the outline of Sam in the blue semi-dark of pre-dawn.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” she whispered.

She meant it. He seemed so peaceful, and he reached for her hand, squeezing it.

“Okay,” he said, sitting up. “Do you need me to walk you?”

She smiled at him slowly, shaking her head.

“I’ve got a car waiting already,” she replied.

He made her feel warm and cozy inside. They watched one another for a few seconds, and Sam lifted her hand to his mouth to kiss her fingers.

“I’ll text you when I land,” she whispered, and he nodded with heavy-lidded eyes. “Go back to sleep.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he whispered back, lowering himself back down with a sigh.

She pressed a kiss to his lips, feeling him smile.

**Author's Note:**

> [my Tumblr](http://grimeysociety.tumblr.com/)


End file.
